“I’ve always felt kind of safe on stage, protected. I’ve talked to other performers about this and they feel the same things, particularly in the live arena. I never get nervous going on stage to do a play. Doing film or television I’ll have more butterflies.”

I don’t care if people perceive me as always selling out because I’m doing a studio picture. For me, the whole thing is you should be diverse in your choices; that’s the beauty of being an actor, you should be able to do that.

There’s a lot of comedy in Intermission but it’s got this depth. It’s not comedy for comedy’s sake – it’s informed by something else. I like stuff like that

My only two constants are to challenge myself and to try not to repeat myself.

I try not to think retrospectively. It’s important, as an artist, to look forward, always. I do try to take work that involves some challenge. If you approach a piece of work and you’re going, “Yeah, yeah, I can do that,” then that’s kind of a red flag.

The medium is secondary to the stories.

The best roles you have to fight for. You have to really want to do it and you have to go after it.

I think if you play characters, it’s very important not to ever tag them with any sort of disorder, or diagnose them, or whatever. You have to normalize the behavior to get inside the character.

If you behave like a celebrity, then people will treat you like a celebrity, and if you don’t, they won’t. There’s not much to write about me in the tabloids.

For me it’s always been about the stories, not what medium. The medium is secondary to the stories.

I think any actor that says ‘I never watch my films’ is a liar because you have to watch it at least once and also you’re going to watch it when you’re doing your ADR.

I always think it’s a sign of a truly gifted director when they can move seamlessly between genres.

I think audiences are a lot more intelligent than what we give them credit for and understand that an actor is playing a role and that doesn’t mean he can’t play different types of roles.

I suppose I’ve always been attracted to this sort of outsider in general – in literature, in music, politics, whatever – and to the person that is able to be relentlessly themselves. I don’t think that I have that quality, that strength of mind.

I personally think if something’s not a challenge there’s no point doing it because you’re not gonna learn much.

I’m terrible. I’m the wrong person to talk to, I really don’t know a thing.

I think for me with theater, I need to take a break and then fall in love with it again. And then go do it again.

The aim of socialism is not only to abolish the present division of mankind into smaller states and all-national isolation, not only to bring the nations closer to each other, but also to merge them.

The kind of man who demands that government enforce his ideas is always the kind whose ideas are idiotic.

Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject itself, or know where to find it.

I am going to build the kind of nation that President Roosevelt hoped for, President Truman worked for, and President Kennedy died for.

Growing up, it was kind of a struggle being small, since everyone would make fun of you – except for when it came to hide and seek: that’s the only advantage I ever had!

No national sovereignty rules in outer space. Those who venture there go as envoys of the entire human race. Their quest, therefore, must be for all mankind, and what they find should belong to all mankind.

Be kind to others for no reason be the sun in their rainy season.

There is freedom in loneliness. A kind of freedom that hurts. The kind you wish you never had.